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LAW AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF THE LAW ON MILITARY SERVICE

Pursuant to the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which was amended and supplemented under Resolution No. 51/2001/QH10 of December 25, 2001, of the Xth National Assembly, the 10th session,

This Law amends and supplements a number of articles of the Law on Military Service, which was passed on December 30, 1981, by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and amended and supplemented first on December 21, 1990, and then on June 22, 1994.

Article 1.- To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Law on Military Service as follows:

1. Article 12 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 12.- Male citizens aged full eighteen years may be called up; in the peacetime, those in the age group of between full eighteen years and full twenty-five years may be called up."

2. Article 14 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 14.-

In the peacetime, the active-service duration for non-commissioned officers and men shall be eighteen months.

In the peacetime, the active-service duration for commanding non-commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, professional and technical men trained by military establishments, non-commissioned officers and men on naval ships shall be twenty-four months."

3. Article 16 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 16.-

The determination of the beginning time and ending time of the active-service duration for non-commissioned officers and men shall be stipulated by the Minister of Defense.

The desertion duration shall not be counted into the active-service duration."

4. Article 22 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 22.- Citizens who are called up must be present at the time and locations stated in the calls-up; if having plausible reasons for failing to do so, they must obtain written certifications of People's Committees of communes, wards or townships (hereinafter referred to as commune-level People's Committees) where they reside."

5. Article 24 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 24.-

1. People's Committees of all levels shall set up Military Service Councils of their levels to assist them in performing military-service work in their respective localities.

2. The composition of the Military Service Councils of all levels shall be stipulated as follows:

a/ The Military Service Council of a province, centrally-run city, rural/urban district or provincial town or city shall be composed of the People's Committee president as its chairman, the chief commander of the local military agency as its vice chairman, and members beings persons in charge of public security, justice, planning, labor-war invalids-social affairs, health, education, culture-information, and finance, and representatives of the Fatherland Front committee, Labor Confederation, Youth Union, Women's Union, Peasants' Association, and War Veterans' Association;

b/ The commune/ward/township Military Service Council shall be composed of the People's Committee president as its chairman, the communal detachment head as its vice chairman, and members being persons in charge of public security, justice, health, and finance, and representatives of the Fatherland Front committee, Youth Union, Women's Union, and War Veterans' Association, and some other members who shall be decided by the president of the People's Committee of the same level.

3. Military Service Councils shall work on the principle of collectivity; a Council's resolution must be voted and approved by more than half of the total number of its members."

6. Article 29 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 29.-

The following citizens shall be temporarily exempt from military call-up in the peacetime:

a/ Persons who are not physically fit to serve in the army according to the conclusions of health-check councils;

b/ Persons who are the sole laborers in their families who must directly nurture other family members who have lost their working capacity or not reached the working age;

c/ Persons having blood elder or younger brothers or sisters who are non-commissioned officers or soldiers on active service;

d/ Teachers, health workers or youth volunteers working in deep-lying, remote, border, island or exceptional difficulty-hit areas; officials or public employees mobilized to work in these areas;

e/ Persons who are conducting State-level scientific research works, with the certification of ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies or persons holding equivalent positions;

f/ Persons who are studying in general education schools, job-training schools, intermediate vocational schools, colleges, or universities under the Government's regulations;

g/ Persons who have gone to build new economic zones during the first three years.

Citizens who are temporarily exempt from military call-up as defined in this Clause shall be annually screened and they may be called up if the reason for temporary exemption no longer exists.

2. The following citizens shall be exempt from military call-up in the peacetime:

a/ Children of martyrs, children of category-one war invalids, and children of category-one diseased soldiers;

b/ One elder or younger brother of a martyr;

c/ One son of a category-two war invalid;

d/ Youth volunteers, officials and public employees defined at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article, who have worked there for twenty-four months or longer.

3. For citizens who are temporarily exempt or exempt from military call-up as defined in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, if they volunteer to join the army, they may be selected and called up.

4. The Government shall specify deep-lying, remote, border, island and exceptional difficulty-hit areas."

7. Article 37 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 37.-

Reserve non-commissioned officers and men are divided into class-one reserve armymen and class-two reserve armymen.

Class-one reserve armymen include non-commissioned officers and men who have been in active service for a prescribed duration or longer; non-commissioned officers and men who have been demobilized ahead of schedule after serving the army for more than six months; non-commissioned officers and men who have been engaged in battle; class-two reserve armymen who have undergone a concentrated training for full six months.

Class-two reserve armymen include non-commissioned officers and men who have been demobilized ahead of schedule after serving the army for less than six months; male citizens aged twenty-six years or older who have not served the army and are transferred to the reserve status; female citizens having registered military service under the provisions of Article 4 of this Law."

8. Article 39 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 39.-

Depending on their ages, reserve non-commissioned officers and men of each class are divided into the following two groups:

Group A: Males aged up to full thirty-five years; females aged up to full thirty years;

Group B: Males aged between thirty-six years and full forty-five years; females aged between thirty-one years and full forty years."

9. Article 52 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 52.- During the period of concentrated drills, military exercise and combat-readiness inspection, reserve professional armymen, reserve non-commissioned officers and men, and their families shall enjoy entitlements and policies stipulated by the Government."

10. Clause 3 of Article 53 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"3. From the nineteenth month on, they shall enjoy an additional 200% of their current monthly military-rank allowance, and from the twenty-fifth month on, an additional 250% of their current monthly military-rank allowance;"

Article 2.- To amend and supplement phrases in a number of articles of the Law on Military Service as follows:

1. The word "gioi" in the phrase "nam gioi" in Articles 3, 13, 17, 19, 20 and 38 is deleted; and the word "gioi" in the phrase "nu gioi" in Article 38 is deleted1;

2. The word "women" in Article 4 is replaced with the phrase "female citizens"; the word "persons" in Articles 20, 26, 28, 31, 58, 59, 60 and 62 is replaced with the word "citizens"; the word "persons" in the phrase "persons who are ready to join the army" in Article 61 is replaced with the word "citizens";

3. The word "ve" in the phrase "Luat ve si quan quan doi nhan dan Viet Nam" in Articles 6 and 7 is deleted2;

4. The phrase "(hereinafter referred to as presidents of commune-level People's Committees)" is added after the phrase "presidents of People's Committees of communes, wards or townships" in Article 17; the phrase "presidents of People's Committees of communes, wards or townships" in Article 19 and Article 61 is replaced with the phrase "presidents of commune-level People's Committees";

5. The phrase "People's Committees of communes, wards or townships" in Articles 23, 36, 54 and 64 is replaced with the phrase "commune-level People's Committees";

6. The phrase "(hereinafter referred to as district-level People's Committees)" is added after the phrase "People's Committees of rural/urban districts or provincial towns and cities" in Article 19; the phrase "People's Committees of rural/urban districts or provincial towns and cities" in Articles 27, 31 and 32 is replaced with the phrase "district-level People's Committees";

7. The phrase "at Points 2 and 3, Article 29 of this Law" in Article 33 is replaced with the phrase "at Point b, Clause 1, and Points a, b and c, Clause 2, Article 29, of this Law."

Article 3.- The Government shall detail the implementation of this Law.

This Law was passed on June 14, 2005, by the XIth National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, at its 7th session.

Chairman of the National Assembly

NGUYEN VAN AN

Notes:

1 The phrase "nam gioi" and the word "nam" (without "gioi") can be both translated into English as "male";

The phrase "nu gioi" and the word "nu" (without "gioi") can be both translated into English as "female".

2 This deletion does not effect the English translation of the phrase "Law on Officers of the Vietnam People's Army".-